'I'm not loving it': Furor as McDonald’s refuses to open in Israeli West Bank settlement

Children eat a meal at the McDonald's fast food chain, converted into a 'soup kitchen' in Tel Aviv.(AFP Photo / STR) / AFP

Israeli settlers are up in arms about McDonald’s refusal to build an outlet in the West Bank, calling to boycott the company’s entire operations in Israel. The chain cited a policy of “staying out of occupied territories” with other businesses joining in.

McDonald's stated that its refusal to operate in the West Bank
"had always been the restaurant chain's policy" and that
its decision was not coordinated with McDonald’s headquarters in
the US.

The co-owner of the new mall in the town of Ariel located in
central West Bank admitted that some other international
companies which were asked to open up businesses in the mall have
also declined. He refused to specify which ones.

"The mediators told us that branches operating abroad and
other companies holding rights in Israel for international brand
names are worried about the potential negative response toward
their businesses [from consumers] abroad if they open shops in
the mall," Tzahi Nahmias told Calcalist newspaper.

In response Israeli settlers have called to boycott McDonald’s
altogether. The right-wing ‘My Israel’ Facebook page posted a
“McDonald’s: I’m not loving it” sign in protest.

“McDonald’s has turned from a business into an organization
with an anti-Israeli political agenda,” deputy director of
the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza
Strip, Yigal Delmonti, told Jpost.

Ariel Mayor Eliyahu Shaviro said McDonald’s refusal is
“unfortunate” and it “discriminates against the city’s
residents,” adding that “issues of culture and commerce
shouldn’t be subject to political considerations.”

Despite the fast-food conglomerate’s decision, the new spot will
not remain empty. Burger Ranch has offered to step in and take
McDonald’s place. In 2010, Burger Ranch had already taken over
Burger King’s spots after the latter company closed all of its
restaurants in Israel.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted former Interior Minister Eli
Yishai of Shas as saying on his Facebook page that he would
“not only eat the first hamburger grilled by Burger Ranch, but
he would also send McDonald's Israel owner Omri Padan ‘a current
map with Israel’s up-to-date borders’".

Israeli settlements as obstacles to peace

Padan, the owner and CEO of McDonald’s Israel, is a former
soldier in the IDF's elite Sayeret Matkal unit and one of the
founders of the group Peace Now, which opposes all settlements
and views them as obstacles to peace.

Reportedly Padan is no longer a member of the group, but that
has always been his policy, according to Israeli business news
site Globes. Padan reportedly first heard of the mall seven
months ago and rejected the idea outright.

Haaretz quoted a source close to Padan saying that the whole
thing is a media spin by one of the business investors in the
Ariel mall’s investors who are trying to “push the mall
forward.”

Peace Now has spoken out in support of McDonald’s refusal,
stating that the company has a right to decide where to open up
new branches and the right to follow its conscience.

“We totally understand and support people who think
settlements are bad for Israel’s interests,” Executive
Director of Peace Now Yariv Oppenheimer told AP. “They don’t
want to take an active role by opening a business there and
helping to expand and to contribute to the settlement
idea.”

Haaretz also points that “not only is Ariel [with its 19,000
Jewish settlers] decidedly NOT a part of Israel, but it is even
an outlier compared to all the other ‘settlement blocs’ that
Israel swears allegiance to in any peace settlement.”

It is not the first time the McDonald’s, with its 170 branches in
operation across Israel by now, is in the center of public
uproar.

The company waited until 1993 to open its first branch in Israel
due to an Arab League boycott of the country. A year later it was
criticized for its large double arches sign near a memorial to
Israel’s Golani military brigade, with critics saying it
desecrated the site.

Boycotting Israeli settlements campaign

McDonald’s decision is expected to add significant weight to the
international movement against Israel’s settlement construction
in West Bank as many view the policy as illegal or illegitimate.
The UN has repeatedly called for boycotting products made in
Israeli settlements.

Activists around the world lead a campaign of encouraging
consumers and businesses to internationally boycott products made
there. Unions, groups and even countries have stepped-up their
efforts to label settlement-made products being sold.

Some of the recent examples include: Caterpillar Inc., which
reportedly provides bulldozers and other construction equipment
in Israeli settlement territories, being removed from three
‘socially responsible’ stock indices by the American investment
firm MSCI; the World Council of Churches calling for a boycott of
products originating in Israeli settlements; and the UK’s
Co-Operative Group stopping buying products from companies known
to source from the settlements.

The Palestinians would like to have complete control over the
West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Israel
has captured those areas, along with the Golan Heights, in the
1967 Mideast War.

Despite the pressure, the Israeli settlement building continues
as country’s planning committee on Wednesday granted final
approval for the construction of 69 settler homes in east
Jerusalem. The decision came hours before the US Secretary of
State John Kerry’s visit to Jordan as part of his efforts to
restart direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.